MapR Technologies just offered a big gift to IT employees who have been looking to improve their big-data skills. The company, which provides a top-ranked distribution of Apache Hadoop, announced Tuesday that it would begin offering free, on-demand training for the open-source software framework for developers, analysts and administrators. MapR also said that it plans to add an additional track for HBase soon.

Although the courses will be free, students hoping to gain certification as a Hadoop or HBase developer will still need to pay $250 for the exams, which are available to take online.

Free Training and Certification

Hadoop is a distributed storage and processing framework designed for working with big data applications. More than half the Fortune 50 companies implement a Hadoop distribution.

The Hadoop training program is a multi-course curriculum designed to expand worldwide adoption of Hadoop technology. The curriculum consists of interactive video lessons, hands-on exercises, labs and quizzes, enabling professionals to acquire valuable Hadoop skills and knowledge on their own schedule.

As part of this comprehensive training initiative, MapR has also arranged for the administration of certification exams by Innovative Exams, a leading certification and training proctoring company.

Developers, data analysts and administrators who complete the appropriate coursework have the option of receiving full certification as a Hadoop Developer, Hadoop Data Analyst, or Hadoop Administrator. There is also a separate certification track for HBase Developers, which will be made available later this year.

Demand Continues To Grow

According to 451 Research, the demand for Hadoop is expected to grow to $2.7 billion by 2018, and one of the key challenges for this growth is the lack of widespread Hadoop configuration and development skills.

"There is ongoing momentum propelling Hadoop as deployments continue to expand in scope and size," said Matt Aslett, research director of data platforms and analytics at 451 Research. "Hadoop skills remain highly valuable to employers and we expect this new on-demand training initiative from MapR to be of tremendous interest to individuals looking to build new areas of expertise in managing and analyzing data."

According to the company, the offer represents a $50 million in-kind contribution to the Hadoop community, based on an estimated value of $1,750 per course, with students taking an average of three courses.

"We focused on making it easy for anyone to receive high-quality, comprehensive Hadoop training anywhere in the world," said Dave Jespersen, vice president of worldwide services at MapR Technologies. "This is a major contribution to the industry, addressing the primary concern around Hadoop skills development and raising the value for professionals who take these courses."

The on-demand training program will consist of the following courses: Hadoop Essentials, Hadoop Operations: Cluster Administration, and Developing Hadoop Applications. MapR will be making additional courses available by the end of March, including HBase Schema Design and Data Modeling, Developing HBase Application, Hadoop Data Analysis with Apache Drill, and Hadoop Data Analysis with Apache Hive.